1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electric vehicles and more particularly to an electro-generating system for recharging the storage batteries of electric vehicles, especially electric cares and trucks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electric cars and trucks have been built and marketed by American automobile companies and function well. However, those vehicles depend solely on storage batteries which require charging electric power produced by electric power companies, many of which use relatively expensive crude oil to produce the electricity necessary to recharge the storage batteries. The same is true for trains and subway cars.
Every vehicle, when in motion, performs mechanical work for transporting the vehicle itself and its load from one place to another. Excessive mechanical work has been converted into electrical power to charge storage batteries of electric vehicles. For example, the 1938 British Pat. Specification No. 514,351 of L. R. Merville for an Apparatus for Recharging Electric Traction Accumulators discloses a gear keyed directly onto the drive shaft of an electric vehicle driving a second smaller diameter gear which is keyed to the shaft of an electric generator. Merville states that the generator may be driven by any rotating part of the vehicle, for example, the axle shaft. Merville was cited in U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,536 issued Nov. 11, 1969 to E. P. Carini for an Electric Drive System.
Also cited in the 1979 Application as disclosing electric vehicles which convert mechanical motion into battery charging electricity are U.S. Pat. No. 1,462,903 issued Nov. 24, 1925 to A. Miller for Electrical Drive for Automobiles; U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,835 issued Nov. 7, 1974 to E. W. Petit for Electric Power Plant for Land Vehicles, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,163 issued Mar. 3, 1970 to J. W. Verreault for Accelerator Release Control for Battery Charging Systems. Miller discloses a hand operated clutch for switching the storage battery from the drive motor to a dynamo when going downhill to charge the storage battery. Verreault discloses a battery charging system wherein a charging generator is connected to the power train between thee motor and the vehicle driving means by a normally disengaged clutch which, when activated, causes the momentum of the vehicle under coasting conditions to drive the charging generator and recharge the battery. Petit discloses two alternators on the drive axle of the vehicle which alternately charge two sets of batteries.
There is a need for an improved electric vehicle which will be able to convert excess mechanical energy into electrical power to charge the vehicles storage batteries, especially when the vehicle is going downhill. That is especially true when the price of crude oil is relatively high and so much crude oil needs to be imported with a corresponding negative impact on America's balance of trade.